Just to mix it up I’m putting the whole Psalm here: no outside links!
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—[b]
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
May we all praise God! May what we do and are help others to praise God! As we are blessed others may be blessed. Would you say that’s true for you- when you’re blessed do you use those blessings to help others? I’ve been blessed with a nice house with a guest room I set up years ago. Only one person that I can think of has used it- that’s my brother. I don’t have people over often. I guess I don’t have the gift of hospitality. It’s something I’d like to cultivate. However, oddly now that it’s the pandemic- my house is my workspace and my church. I invite people in online all the time to come sit around my coffee table and have a chat. I can’t say that most of my purchases have been used to bless others.
However in the early church blessings weren’t seen as material things. No sickness and persecution for being Christians were seen as blessings. I’ve rarely been persecuted or hurt for my faith, but I have gone through some trials. Sometimes others knew I was going through them and helped me through. Others I was able to tell people about after wards to help them go through similar times.
Which do you share more with others? The blessings that come from prosperity or the blessings that come from pain? Both have their place. Both help us connect. God works in all things! He works to connect us around a dinner table but also the communion table where we participate in the sacrifice Jesus gave for us- the biggest pain. I’m missing that right now- the joy of being with other believers to participate in the eucharist- which ironically means thanksgiving- to be thankful for the death of another.
It’s odd to think about being thankful for bad things- but perhaps that’s the best thing we can do right now. What are you thankful for today? What are you giving praise to God for that you would never thought about before the year 2020?
Marking It Up 